Mexican Bean Salad

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mexican-bean-salad/

I loved this salad. I used half the salt and sugar called for and put in garbanzo beans instead of black since that's what I had. Next time I will also halve the oil and vinegar since there was too much.

This is best eaten in the first couple days since the cilantro will turn brown and there is a lot of starch released  into the oil which makes it thick and weird.

Gnocchi Stir Fry

1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 lb of gnocchi
8 oz kielbasa
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (or less)
1/4 cup Basilla Arrabiata sauce

Do not cook the gnocchi. Saute onion, pepper, and kielbasa until cooked and pepper is softened somewhat. You may need the lid. Add gnocchi and sauce, toss and let gnocchi steam with lid on. Top with parmesan, stir, and serve.

I made this up and it turned out great.
Calories: 406 /serving. 4 servings.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

http://www.jennieo.com/recipes/518-Hannahs-Turkey-Stuffed-Peppers

We both liked this. I served it with rice on the side. It fills 4 medium peppers with a 1.25 lb package.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lanas-sweet-and-sour-meatballs/detail.aspx

David and I really enjoyed this. The meatballs are very tasty. I doubled the vegetables in the recipe, and the sauce should be doubled as well. To do so I would just add an extra 1.5 cups of water, and extra cornstarch.

This needs 8 cups of rice to go with it. 6 cups was not quite enough. This dish would serve 6 people generously, or 8 as a main course if there is something on the side or for dessert.

Update:
I added 6 oz of pineapple juice and 6 oz of water, plus 3 more T cornstarch to double sauce. I also doubled veggies and it turned out great. You need the extra juice to maintain flavor.

Chicken Posole

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/easy-chicken-posole/Detail.aspx

This was so good. I love chicken posole! I altered the recipe by leaving out the water and only adding 2 quarts of chicken broth. I added a chopped green bell pepper which was a fantastic addition. Also, I put in 6 raw, skinless chicken legs at the beginning instead of shredded chicken breast. I used two cans of hominy.

Removing the skin beforehand is important so it doesn't get too greasy. This would work well with chicken thighs as well.

For next time:

I think for 2 quarts of broth, using 10 chicken legs would be better. Putting in extra garlic, two onions, two bell peppers, and a third can of hominy would be great.

Full Recipe:

2 quarts broth
10 chicken legs (skin removed)
2 onions
2 cans hominy (drained)
two bell peppers
4 T chili powder
2 t salt
1 t oregano
3 cloves garlic

saute chopped onions/garlic. Add everything except hominy and bell pepper. Simmer for 60-90 minutes. Add hominy and chopped bell pepper and cook another 15-30 minutes.

Variation:

I made half a recipe tonight. I used 1 qt broth, 1 can hominy, and halved the rest of the recipe. I put in 4 chicken legs with the skin removed. No green pepper. I had shredded green cabbage that we put into the soup as we ate it. It added a nice crunch and added some nutrition. I really liked the raw cabbage.

Stuffed Green Peppers

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1626,130178-251195,00.html

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork sausage or ground pork

4 eggs

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves fresh garlic

salt

pepper

Italian seasoning

1/2 cup cooked rice

4 large green peppers, sliced in half
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

Grease bottom of pan with olive oil. Mix meat, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, and all seasonings in large bowl (DON'T ADD TOMATO SAUCE. IT GOES ON AS A TOPPING). Add rice and mix together. Slice green peppers so that you have 8 halves. (You can also slice off the top of the pepper and use the whole pepper instead). Stuff peppers with meat mixture. Place in pan and pour both cans of tomato sauce over top and along bottom of pan. Cook @ 350 F for about 1 hour. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. Serves 4 people, 2 halves each.

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David and I loved this recipe. We found that there was no need for a side of rice. It is satisfying as is, and there is rice in the filling. It was so tasty. I made a point of not buying diet lean ground beef for this recipe, just "lean" (whatever that is..) so there would be more flavor. The flavor of the filling was fantastic. I used bulk pork sausage instead of ground pork as the original recipe calls for. The peppers I bought were massive and thick, so even after an hour there was still some crunch. So if you don't like that, be sure to buy peppers that are not as big.

Calories: 780 per serving / 4 servings (using sausage and 91/9 beef)

Spanish Rice

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Betty-Crocker-1950s-Spanish-Rice-266461

This recipe is from my Betty Crocker cookbook. It's one DH used to make a lot back when I worked full time. Very easy and good.